UChicago Prof, the Brother of a Convicted Iranian Spy, Says the ‘Only Hope for Peace Is the Power and Durability of Iranian Missiles’
21st June 2025
Alireza Doostdar, an associate professor of Islamic Studies and a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen, wrote in a Tuesday X post, “At this point the best and only hope for peace is the power and durability of Iranian missiles.” His statement was in response to a video alleging that an “Iranian hypersonic missile attack” had destroyed an Israeli missile defense system in Tel Aviv.
On the University of Chicago campus, Doostdar is an active member of the Faculty for Justice in Palestine chapter and has supported unauthorized anti-Israel encampments. He was arrested during a “sit-in” protest in November 2023.
Doostdar’s brother Ahmadreza, however, has a more extensive record of run-ins with law enforcement. A federal judge sentenced him to 38 months in prison in 2020 for spying on Iranian dissidents in California and Chicago and for monitoring a number of Jewish centers, including a Hillel Center and a Rohr Chabad Center. Doostdar’s brother is also a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen.